Weather Forecast

Canucks rookie Brock Boeser out 4-6 weeks with injury

Vancouver Canucks forward Brock Boeser (6) is escorted off the ice after running into an open door on the Vancouver Canucks bench during the third period against the New York Islanders at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Anne-Marie Sorvin-USA TODAY Sports

Vancouver Canucks rookie forward Brock Boeser will miss four to six weeks after suffering a transverse process fracture during an awkward collision with an open bench door during Monday night's game with the Islanders.

Boeser tried to check Islanders winger Cal Clutterbuck in the closing seconds of regulation but was knocked to the ice and slid backward toward the Canucks' bench, hitting his lower back on the corner of the boards next to the open door. He was helped off the ice and taken to a hospital for evaluation.

The Canucks announced Tuesday that no structural damage occurred.

"Brock Boeser will make a full recovery in 4-6 weeks," the team said in a statement on Twitter. "He was taken to a hospital last night for further imaging and evaluation where he was diagnosed with a soft-tissue injury and a small, non-structural, non-displaced fracture of the transverse process in his lower back. The Canucks are grateful for the quality of care he received; Boeser was resting at home within a few hours after the game."

A first-round pick in 2015, the 21-year-old Boeser earned an All-Star nod in his first NHL season, the only rookie to do so this year. He leads Vancouver in goals (29) and points (55) this season while playing an average of 17:30 per game across 62 appearances.

Boeser's timetable for recovery gives him a chance to return for two or three games at the end of the regular season, but with the Canucks (25-32-9) well out of contention, it seems more likely that his rookie campaign is over.